Simon Leslie: A wonderful reminder of what Eastbourne Borough can feel like when everyone is pulling in the same direction

I want to start by thanking every single Borough supporter who made the trip to Whitehawk. It was a nightmare clash with Brighton playing at home, which inevitably depleted both sets of supporters a little, but you would hardly have known it from the noise and atmosphere. The sun was shining, the singing was joyful, the energy was positive and, despite a little bump along the way on a horrible pitch, we ran out worthy winners and earned ourselves another Saturday in the FA Cup.

Hearing Steve King’s name being sung was definitely a special moment for me. There was a feeling of players, management, staff and supporters being completely in unison, and you could sense the belief from the stands and see the players responding to it on the pitch. If we can create that feeling regularly, I genuinely believe we will win a lot of football matches. Football will always bring disagreements and difficult afternoons, but when the whole club is moving together there is an energy that is difficult to replicate anywhere else.

I have had lots of encouraging feedback from different parts of our fan base following last week’s column, including from people who did not necessarily agree with everything I said, and I appreciate all of it. The purpose was never to create division. It was to explain some of the decisions we have made, the investment that has gone into the club and the long term thinking behind what we are trying to build.

Now we have a fantastic eight days of football ahead of us, starting with Cheshunt at home tomorrow, followed by Chatham at home on Tuesday night and then Windsor & Eton coming to us in the FA Cup next Saturday. Three home games in eight days gives us a great opportunity to build some momentum, start pushing ourselves up the league and hopefully keep this cup run going.

Our women are also in action away at Aylesford on Sunday after battling incredibly hard against Sutton last weekend. They were depleted, eventually losing 3-2, but played remarkably well and there is so much to be encouraged by in the way this team is developing. I want the whole club moving forward together and that absolutely includes our women’s team.

I think we can be pretty happy with the FA Cup draw. Windsor & Eton at home is a lovely tie for the club and, while there are certainly no easy games in this competition and we will underestimate nobody.

A good cup run also means more than the excitement of seeing our name come out of the hat. It generates additional revenue and every extra pound gives us another opportunity to reinvest in Borough. We have already put significant money into the squad, our beautiful new pitch, the stadium and the wider facilities, but there is much more I want us to do. Success on the pitch helps us get there faster.

We have tried hard to keep our pricing keen despite rising costs everywhere, a special thank you to Kim for pushing our suppliers to help us, chips, burgers and beer have all gone up, and we are holding our prices steady. I really want your children pestering you to come back, supporters bringing friends and families, and Priory Lane having the same positive feeling we experienced at Whitehawk.

So thank you again, genuinely, from the bottom of my heart. Saturday reminded me what Borough can be when we are all together, and now we have an opportunity to carry that feeling into three home games over the next eight days.

It starts tomorrow, let's fill the place, get behind Steve and the players and make being at Borough something we all look forward to every week.

Come on you Sports